SingTel Flags Off 2013 Singapore GP Weekend!

The 2013 Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix (GP) is back in Singapore and this year, in the 6th edition of the Singapore GP, there are many activities and events to Rev Up Singapore for the 2013 SingTel Singapore GP! On Thursday 19th September 2013, the “Rev Up Singapore” campaign by Singapore GP, opened up the famed Marina Bay Circuit Pit Lane and F1 village in Zone 1 to members of the public, generating a huge excitement leading up to the 2013 Formula 1 Singapore GP happening this weekend from Friday 20th September till Sunday 22nd September!

Gate 1 was opened at 7pm and the huge crowds started queueing up before the official opening time and they walked in to enjoy the Thursday Pit Lane Experience around the F1 village in Zone 1. There were entertainment and performances on the Village Stage and around the F1 village, there were booths around the F1 village whereby you can buy F1 merchandise too. There was a major event for 2013 SingTel Singapore GP, with the crowning of the SingTel Grid Girl, held at the village stage. SingTel, Title Sponsor of the 2013 Singapore Grand Prix, unveiled Singapore’s top three Grid Girls at The Pit Lane Experience, just 24 hours before race weekend.

“Summing up this year’s Formula 1® Singapore Style race carnival, Mr Allen Lew, Country Chief Officer – Singapore, SingTel, said: “This being our sixth consecutive year of sponsorship, we had the opportunity to learn what people enjoy, so we went all out to create a Singapore-Style Formula 1® experience for people from all walks of life. As a result, we are very happy to have seen a tremendous increase in public engagement; with close to a million votes for the Grid Girls, bigger crowds at the roadshows and over a thousand people signing up for The Big Race.

“We are delighted to have found the first Singaporean to take the chequered flag and thank everyone who participated in the activities. We look forward to an adrenaline-filled race weekend where we have also created a unique way for Singapore to show its support for the race – a specially-designed chequered flag which is available in both physical and digital form.”

Close to a million votes for this year’s SingTel Grid Girl

23-year-old student, Shannon Lim won the honour of holding the Singapore flag as this year’s top SingTel Grid Girl. She is one of three winning Grid Girls who will flag off the race this weekend. In second and third place were Jermayne Chow, 23 and Stacey Liu, 21, both also students.

The public got to know this year’s SingTel Grid Girl contenders via The Singapore Factor, a series ofSingapore-style challenges that were designed to find Grid Girls who best epitomise the Formula 1® Singapore Style theme. Featuring favourite local pastimes like shopping and eating, the clips were available for viewing on www.singtelrace.com. The winners were determined via SMS and online votes by members of the public.

“Being a SingTel Grid Girl has been an amazing experience. The challenges truly highlighted our unique Singapore culture and I really enjoyed meeting all the F1 fans at the roadshows. I watch the race every year and still can’t quite believe that I will be the one holding the national flag on the starting grid this weekend,” said Miss Lim.

After catching the crowning of the SingTel Grid Girls, we continued exploring around the F1 village before queuing up to enter into the Pit Lane for the Pit Lane Walk Experience! The crowds were very enthusiastic and this was a highlight that they were looking forward to! The crowds walked along the famed Marina Bay Circuit, near to Turn 2 Grandstand, starting at Turn 3, walking towards Turn 2, then Turn 1 and straight road to the Start/End. Along the walk, you can see and sense the excitement with people taking many photographs on the Marina Bay Circuit track! As we continued walking into the Pit Lane area, looking at the F1 garages preparing their F1 cars for the 2013 Formula 1 SingTel Singapore GP! This rare photography opportunity to be up close to the F1 cars and Pit Garages was something that the participants could not resist and the photography went into overdrive mode, taking as many photographs as possible. Although we can’t visit the F1 garages, I am very happy that I was able to take photographs of the Pit Lane and the F1 cars being prepared for weekend racing action! Walking from one end of the Pit Lane to the other end of Pit Lane, we turned back and walked along the Marina Bay Circuit track, soaking in the atmosphere of the famed Marina Bay Circuit. The Pit Lane Experience walk feeling was great and enjoyable, it’s building up to the race weekend in Singapore!

The 2013 Formula 1 SingTel Singapore GP is starting tonight at the Marina Bay Circuit, I am looking forward to my 6th edition of Singapore GP and adding it to my Singapore GP collection! Do check out Singapore GP website for more information and updates! Enjoy and have fun at the Singapore GP this weekend!